Terminally ill six-year-old Dutch boy, Tijn Kolsteren, who hoped to raise a few hundred euros by daring people to paint their nails, died earlier this month having raised more than €9 million.
Famous people including DJs and politicians across the Netherlands responded to the appeal
This is the moving story of six-year-old Tijn Kolsteren: Terminally ill suffering from brain cancer, he had one last wish. He wanted to raise as much money as possible to help other children. Tijn asked people who get their nails painted to donate €1 and those who don’t get their nails painted to donate €10. The campaign, originally intended to raise a few hundred euros, went viral in The Netherlands and finally raised over €9 million! Famous people including DJs and politicians across the Netherlands responded to the appeal. Even the King and Prime Minister joined in and praised young Tijn, who was blessed by Pope Francis.
This six-year-old boy polarised an entire nation and they mourn his loss
Six-year-old Tijn Kolsteren, who raised more than €9 million in a nail-polish campaign, has died of a rare form of brain cancer, reports 3FM radio station. He had volunteered to raise money by varnishing people’s nails for 3FM’s Serious Request campaign in Breda, The Netherlands.
Tijn wanted to prevent children dying from pneumonia. “Most of the poor kids infected with pneumonia don’t even live to be five years old. That is why we’re standing up to fight,” his father said. And that is why he showed up at the Glass House (radio show) with a request: he wants to paint nails to raise funds for 3FM Serious Request and the Red Cross.
Before his death, Tijn was working on a new charity drive called "Lak door Tijn" (Dutch for "Nail polish by Tijn") in which he sold four colours of polish to collect money to buy a specialised machine to treat children with brain cancer.
Sources: Guardian, DutchNews, Buzzfeed, StraitsTimes
Click to support Tijn's chosen research foundation:
Semmy Foundation’s mission is to prolong the life expectation and outcome for kids with a brainstem tumor (brainstem glioma) through scientific research. You can support the Semmy Foundation in many ways.